Five Reasons to Hate Draco Malfoy
by That'sSusanToYou
Summary: "You have become the very bane of my existence!" Draco pointed a finger at her accusingly. "I don't know what to think anymore because of you!" Has a certain Gryffindor turned Draco's world up-side down?


Just a oneshot between Draco and Hermione which takes place in their sixth year. Special thanks to my beta (I love you shrus6291!) for editing it :) Hope you like it, and review please!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot

...

The small group remained silent for the next awkward 15 minutes. The first day of classes was always like this, especially in a class that only had 8 students.

"Uh–um," Professor Vector stuttered. "I'm fairly certain that we all know each other, but I still believe that we should go around the class to introduce ourselves briefly." Not a word was said, but the collective groan could be sensed. "Why don't you start?" He pointed at the Hufflepuff boy at one side of the room.

One by one, they all began. After Zacharias Smith, Cormac spoke with a flirtatious edge to his voice. The corner of his mouth curved upwards seductively and Hermione pointedly stared at her desk, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

"Blaise Zabini," he declared as if daring someone in the room to contradict him. His chin was up and his dark eyes were scanning the room.

Next to him, complimenting Blaise's dark outlook was the second Slytherin.

"Draco Malfoy," he announced in a similar tone without quite as much of a condescending touch. Unlike Blaise, his chin remained down and his silky blonde hair fell slightly in front of his silver eyes.

Hermione kept her eyes on him even when the boy from Ravenclaw, Terry Boot, began speaking. As if sensing eyes watching him, Draco looked up. Silver pools met the brown orbs in an intense stare; it was a silent war to see who would have to look away first.

"Hermione," An elbow jabbed into her side followed by a whisper. She was forced to pull her eyes away and turn to the redhead next to her who was looking at her expectantly much like the rest of the class.

"Hermione Granger," she said quickly, flushing in embarrassment. Ginny was giving her a strange look but all the others simply moved on to Luna sitting obliviously on the next seat. Hermione found her eyes look for Draco's once again, but they were hidden behind his blonde hair that fell forward as he had turned his face down.

"So let's refresh our memory with a few simple arithmancy problems, alright?" Professor Vector began writing on the chalkboard. Hermione's hand immediately shot up with the answer prepared. "Ah, Miss Granger, why don't you share your answer with the rest of us?"

Hermione nodded once before she opened her mouth to speak; she was interrupted by a familiar drawl from the other side of the classroom.

"Yes, Know-it-all, enlighten us." Draco had rested his chin in his palms, his elbows propped up on the table. His eyes shone with exaggerated excitement as he mocked her. Blaise snickered next to him but Hermione simply smiled, feigning sweetness.

"Well, ferret, if my intellectuality begins to undermine what you presume to be your honour, then inform me and I'll refrain from responding to questions that I'm sure you have the answers to in that vast wasteland you call a brain."

It was Ginny's turn to snicker as the sarcastic expression was wiped off Draco's face. His eyes bore into Hermione's and they stared for what seemed like eternity.

"38," Hermione said without removing her gaze from his. "The first one is 38."

Professor Vector cleared her throat. "Correct, Miss Granger." The chalk squeaked as she wrote it on the board.

"What in the name of Merlin was that?" Ginny said amusedly as they were walking in the hallway.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Hermione asked innocently.

"Please," Ginny snorted. "The way you two stared, you may as well have burned holes into each other. Both of you are riddled through like Swiss cheese." Ginny laughed a little and then added as an afterthought. "That was some _serious _eye-fu–"

"Don't finish that sentence, Ginny," Hermione warned and Ginny simply snorted again.

Hermione felt a shove against her left shoulder and as she was pushed into Ginny, she stuck her left foot out and tripped the offending party. Draco stumbled forward, his golden hair flopping around as he tried to regain his balance. He turned around with accusing eyes to Hermione who was readjusting her book bag on her left shoulder. She stalked ahead with Ginny by her side, struggling not to laugh.

Draco was left behind, his mouth slightly open and his eyes flaming. Hermione turned around once to look at him with a condescending look in her eyes; then she flipped her head back around to give him one last burning look, her curly brown locks flying as she did, and walked away.

Ginny shook her head. "This is going to be an interesting year."

...

"You're joking, right?"

"Why on earth would I do that?"

"You truly are a ferret, Malfoy. Or are you _absolutely _certain that you weren't dropped on your head as a child?" She spoke with horror.

"Well are _you_ certain a mop wasn't dropped on your head as a child?" he snarled back at her.

"Enough," Professor Vector said loudly, overpowering their voices. "May I divert your attention back to the board?"

Draco turned to the side wordlessly and Hermione mumbled a quick apology. She leaned forward again and continued taking her notes vigorously; but not before shooting a glare to Ginny who was biting her lip to stop herself from laughing. Ginny's smiled dropped as soon as she caught sight of the look on Hermione's face and she leaned forward as well and proceeded with her notes.

"Class dismissed; finish the task on page 35 for homework." Professor Vector reminded as they left.

Hermione, Ginny, and Luna walked down the hallway slowly before Hermione gasped.

"Oh, I left my book on the desk. You guys go on, I'll see you later." She jogged back to the classroom. Professor Vector had left the room as well, so it was empty; except for Malfoy.

He was in her path so she strode past him and purposely bumped her shoulder into his, making him stumble back. Her back turned to him, she smirked triumphantly.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed. Hermione ignored him and picked up her book. She spun around to find him still standing there, an unreadable look in his eyes.

"Why do you hate me so much?" he asked, his query sounding genuine.

Hermione quirked an eyebrow and laughed mirthlessly. "You're honestly asking me that?" She scoffed when his face showed no hint of understanding. "Tell me, Malfoy," She took a slow step towards him. "What is the biggest difference between us?"

Draco glanced to his right without turning his head and effortlessly answered. "I'm a pureblood, you're a mu–" he stopped. "Muggleborn."

She sighed inwardly. _At least he had the decency to say 'Muggleborn'. _Though she didn't know what held him back from using the expletive he'd been casually throwing at her for years now.

"That's reason number one," she told him and strode past him to the door. Her hand froze on the handle when he asked her another question.

"There's more than one?"

She bit back another humourless chuckle. "Of course there's more than one."

The door creaked as she pushed it open and walked, hugging her book to her chest. After a while, she heard footsteps behind her; they were a lot faster than hers.

"What's number two, then?" He was next to her without trouble, his long legs keeping up easily.

Hermione sighed. "What's the difference, then?" she said tiredly. "What's the difference between a pureblood and a muggleborn?"

"Well," he said. "A pureblood is born wi–"

"I don't want to know the explanation I could find in the library." She cut him off. Hermione stopped walking and Draco did too. They stood facing each other. "Tell me what the difference between you and me is."

"I would've been able to if you had shut your trap for a seco–"

"No, Malfoy," she interrupted again. Hermione pulled out her wand and pointed it to a potted plant a few meters away. Without muttering a single word, she transfigured it into a flock of canaries that chirped and flew in a circle. "I'm sure you can change it back," she turned to him.

Malfoy quirked an eyebrow before casting a lazy flick with his wand; the birds disappeared immediately. He turned back to her, the confusion clear in his eyes.

"I can do magic, you can do magic," Hermione explained. She took a step towards him and looked up at his towering figure a head taller than her. She may have been small, but the look in her eyes made Malfoy look like a cowering ferret. They were so close together, she was almost whispering. "Now tell me the difference."

Draco's mouth fell open ever so slightly and he gulped. He was staring at her with a stunned expression, obviously trying to answer her question but finding no words. Hermione stepped back from him and stared firmly. She turned on her heel and began walking.

"That's number two."

...

"_I can do magic, you can do magic," Hermione explained. She took a step towards him and looked up at his towering figure a head taller than her. _

"_Now tell me the difference."_

His head rang with her nagging voice. He couldn't seem to stop thinking about her; about what she said. _What was the difference, then?_

He groaned loudly, anger building up inside him suddenly. "The nerve of her," he said out loud, his nose wrinkled in disgust. "Who does she think she is to make me doubt myself like this?" he snarled the words at no one.

Draco refused to think about what she said. He refused to think about her mane of hair which had been tamed over the years to silky curls that bounced as she walked with a powerful stride. He refused to think about when she'd shoved her shoulder into his and the intoxicating smell of her hair that flooded through him, throwing him off guard. He refused to think about the ease and speed at which she had whipped her wand out and the smooth flick of her wrist as she–

_STOP!_ He cursed at himself. _Just stop thinking about Granger; bushy-haired, bucktoothed, know-it-all Granger. _

But his brain betrayed him once again as he noted her buckteeth from the younger years had been replaced with a straight row of pearly whites which gleamed as she smiled and laughed.

"Ugh!" he groaned and heaved himself off the bed and walked to the shared dormitory downstairs where the group of girls was giggling uncontrollably. He rolled his eyes and yelled out a name, knowing she'd scurry to him with a snap of his fingers.

"Parkinson," he called out. He saw her pug face turn to him with shock on her face before she bolted towards him, her face scrunched up even more with joy. Draco sighed, already regretting his decision but led her to his room anyways; it was just to take his mind off things.

...

"Why does Parkinson look like she's ready to take your eye out with her fork?"

"Do you need to know everything, Zabini?" Draco rubbed his forehead, trying to dull the ache.

"Well, I'll find out eventually anyways," Blaise shrugged at him. Draco nodded; it was true.

"I, well," Draco hesitated. "I didn't _finish_ the _job _last night." Blaise snorted. "I couldn't bring myself to. There's only so much of her face you can take at a time." Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Small doses of Pansy are _more_ than enough."

Blaise began roaring with laughter and many other Slytherins on the table turned to look at them but Blaise didn't stop.

"Did _little_ Draco fail you?" he spluttered out.

"Don't be ridiculous, Zabini." Draco held his head in his hands, his headache becoming worse than ever. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have more mature matters at hand that I need to see to." Draco stood up from the table and walked out the large doors of the great hall.

His footsteps were quick as he jogged through the hallways and up the stairs, pushing past the students whose laughter echoed. He just walked; searching for a place he could get some peace and quiet.

He turned a corner and opened a door randomly without paying attention to where it led to; Draco stepped into the library. He shrugged to himself. At least it was quiet and no one would be here during breakfast. Large shelves of books passed him as he took long strides to find a chair in the back.

As he reached the table he was searching for, he froze. Hermione Granger was sitting on the chair, leaning over on to the table scribbling furiously onto a parchment. At least five books lay open around her and she glanced at each one every few seconds, crossing and uncrossing her legs.

Draco didn't want to turn around, that would seem immature, but he didn't quite want to go further either. Instead, he stood rooted to the ground, staring. Hermione didn't seem to notice he was even there; she was engrossed in whatever she was doing.

"Are you just going to stand there staring at me like a fool?" Her head was still down, and her hand was still scratching at the parchment. _How had she known he was there?_ "Seriously, Malfoy, you're starting to resemble the first years you pick on."

Draco decided to take a few steps towards the chair opposite her, making sure she wouldn't kill him; Hermione couldn't seem to care less. He took a seat and held his forehead in his hands, his elbow on the table.

"I-I was just looking for some quiet a-and–"

"Just don't talk." She interrupted his stuttering. He couldn't blame her; he was acting like Longbottom.

They didn't speak for a long time; she worked on what looked to be a charms essay that was due in two weeks. Draco simply watched her as she worked. Hermione's look of concentration was amusing. Her teeth were clenched and there was a small crease between her brows and every time she was stuck on something, she ran her fingers through her curls. When she became frustrated, she would pull the hair tie off her wrist and pull her ringlets into a messy bun with a few tendrils falling out.

Draco went back to resting his head in his hands, massaging the throb in his temples.

"Headache?" Hermione's voice startled him and he looked up to see her still looking down at her books.

Draco nodded. "A little bit,"

She pulled out her wand and muttered something with a small flick towards him, her eyes barely leaving the scrawled words on the parchment. Relief flooded through him as the pain was immediately replaced by a cool breeze that flowed through his head. Draco's eyes widened and followed Hermione's hand as she put away her wand.

"Uh," he didn't know what to say. A 'thank you' was out of question so he settled with changing the topic. "What is reason number three?"

Hermione blinked in confusion before realizing what he was referring to. She began closing some of the books that circled her.

"What does it matter to you, ferret? Turning over a new leaf?" She smiled with a mocking look in her eyes. She rolled up her parchment which was now about three feet.

Draco crossed his legs and leaned back on the chair, reflecting an air of arrogance in his manner. "Unadulterated curiosity," he shrugged and smirked; it never quite reached his eyes, though.

Hermione slapped a book shut with a little too much force and heaved a sigh. "Well," she said as she continued to avoid eye contact with him. "I just helped you, didn't I?" Draco grimaced in uncertainty. Hermione glanced up at him with an obvious look on her face. "I healed your headache."

"Oh," Draco looked down quickly, feeling uncomfortable that they were back to the topic that he'd been trying to avoid. But he still urged her to go on, curious as to where she was going with this. "Okay,"

"It's not something I needed to do, really," she said. "It didn't benefit me in _any_ way."

"Get to the point, Granger."

"This _is _my point." She slammed the books into a pile loudly. "What I did, Malfoy, is called a _favor._ _Favors_ are much appreciated and appreciation is usually portrayed through what many like to call _gratitude_." Hermione pulled her bag onto the table and started shoving books in. "They are two _very_ simple words, Malfoy."

Draco nearly sputtered in disbelief. "I didn't ask you to do anything!"

Hermione stopped attacking her bag. "Would you like me to take it back then? Would you rather you had your headache? Because I can very simply–"

"So this is all about how I don't say th–" He choked on his own words. "Th-tha–" He closed his gaping mouth and gave up.

Hermione's expression changed to one of slight amusement. "You can't say it." she said softly. "You've never said it before, and you never will because _you can't_." Her face fell back to the cold mask it was before. "But that's not the third reason."

Draco raised an eyebrow at her condescendingly. "Then why the hell are you telling me this?"

Hermione scoffed. "I don't know what you've plastered over your eyes which show you the world _exactly_ the way you want to see it, where the only thing that matters is your _bloody_ honor. Well, open your eyes, Malfoy, because no one gives a hoot about that; it isn't what's going to get you any respect around here and it isn't what's going to save your _worthless arse_ through this war." Hermione swung her bag onto her shoulder and walked through the bookshelves to the door. Draco didn't miss her soft mutters as she left. "_That's_ the third reason."

That was also the third time Hermione had walked out on a dumbfounded Draco.

...

"Here," A plate was tossed onto his lap with a slice of toast on it. Blaise walked towards his room nonchalantly with his nose in the air. "You get wound up when you don't eat and I'm in no mood to have to deal with your crabbiness."

Draco gulped and picked up the plate. He cleared his throat before he spoke with a tremor in his voice. "Th-thanks, Blaise."

Blaise froze in his tracks, his back to Draco. Draco waited with a dazed look on his face; the usual scowl on his face replaced by a look of bewilderment. Blaise spun around slowly on his feet, his eyebrow quirked up.

"I got you _toast_, Draco." Blaise smirked at him. "I didn't save you from a burning building. Though I doubt I would if opportunity arose." Blaise shook his head with the same grin on his face. "Risk my life for someone else? How very Gryffindor," He chuckled all the way up to his room.

Draco looked down at his toast, a frown on his face. He took a bite from it, his face still thoughtful.

"_You've never said it before, and you never will because you can't."_

He clenched his teeth. "Stupid mudbl–" he choked on his words and then groaned, chucking the plate across the room and watching in satisfaction as it shattered against the wall.

...

The Great Hall rustled with the sounds of plates and spoons clattering while the students ate and talked. Hermione simply shifted the potatoes around on her plate and stared thoughtfully at her lunch.

"Is everything alright, Hermione?" Ginny asked. "You've barely touched your lunch."

"Oh, I'm just not hungry." She said, still not looking up from her plate. She put her fork down and folded her hands in her lap.

"Really? Is that all it is?" Ginny asked knowingly. "Hermione, I can read you like a book."

"I'm fine!" Hermione snapped at her friend. She immediately regretted when she say the hurt in Ginny's eyes. "I'm sorry, Gin. I'm just a little tired. I'm going to take a little walk to clear my head." And without another word, Hermione got up and left the Great Hall hurriedly.

She craved some time with Harry and Ron, who were both serving detention with Professor Snape at the time, and some freedom from Ginny's perceptive eyes. It made her uncomfortable to always be under the radar with her around. Boys were so much simpler.

Hermione wished that statement were actually true for all boys; there was just one she hadn't figured out yet and it irritated her to no end. One minute he was pompous, arrogant and a pureblood _bastard, _but when she observed him from across the hall or during classes, her view was shattered. He was quiet, courteous and watched everyone around him with an insightful eye. She once saw him, during Arithmancy, slide his notes over to Blaise who was frantically trying to keep up with Professor Vector and allowed his friend to comfortably copy his notes; it was a small gesture, but staggered her. Draco Malfoy seemed to have changed drastically this year.

"Yeah, right." Hermione mumbled to herself as she stared out at the Black Lake. "Maybe the day Ronald loses his appetite."

"You know they say talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity?"

Hermione turned to see Draco leaning casually against the large tree overlooking the lake. She sighed exasperatedly. "Are you following me?"

"Well, Granger," he smirked. "If I see it correctly, I was here before you, so technically _you're _following _me_."

"Aren't you supposed to be in the infirmary?" Hermione asked, irritated.

"Well," he said mockingly, "Potter can't do that much damage to me," He continued staring out at the lake. "His incompetent wand work may have just saved my life."

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned away. _It would take a lot more than slicing him open and leaving him half-dead on the bathroom floor to shut Malfoy up. _"I'm leavi–"

"Oh, don't let my presence interrupt your wild ranting. You never do." He added quietly.

Hermione whipped her head around, her hair flying as she did and glared at him with pure loathing. "What is that supposed to mean?" She walked to the tree he was leaning on and faced him with contempt in her eyes.

"It _means_," he pushed himself off the tree and took a step forward towards her. "It means that you are driving me _crazy_ with your _stupid _idealistic view of the world and your _bloody_ morals!" He took another step towards causing her to take a step backwards, a hint of fear in her brown eyes. "You think that _everybody_ is a good person who should be selflessly saving the world from the Dark Lord but you need to get this stupid hero complex out of your head!" Draco continued to walk forwards with an unhinged edge to his gray eyes which sparked with emotion.

Hermione was stepping backwards away from him, flinching slightly at his shouts.

"_You _have become the very _bane_ of my existence!" Draco pointed a finger at her accusingly. "I don't know what to think anymore because of _you_!"

"How dare you?" Hermione snapped back at him, all hints of fear vanished from her glaring eyes. "How dare you blame _me_ for your stupid problems? This is _exactly _why I hate you, you self-centered, ego–"

"Brilliant!" Draco flailed his arms out as he looked up, infuriated. "Let's have a recap of what makes Draco Malfoy a _heartless bastard_ in Miss Perfect Hermione Granger's eyes!"

Hermione ignored the mocking comment. "You're so blinded by your irrational prejudiced ways you can't see anything but them; but you don't even know why you believe your precious pureblood rules and purposelessly follow that deranged Dark Lord of yours who's _obviously_ gone off his rocker! But of course, you can't see any of that past your useless honor and pride!" Hermione was panting by the time she was done; her voice had carried quite a bit so she glanced behind the tree, half expecting someone to come running.

Draco had lost the crazy look in his eyes as Hermione regained her breath. "Is that it? You aren't going to add reason number 4 to that massive list you've begun making?" His words were heavily laced with sarcasm.

They remained silent for a long time. Hermione took this time to note the bags under his eyes as if he hadn't slept in a while. Now that she looked at him properly, his hair looked un-brushed and his clothes were wrinkled and creased, like they had been slept in; or he'd just not gone to sleep. He was leaning on the tree once again, staring out into the distance with a blank expression on his face.

"Number four," Hermione broke the silence, "is your inability to take responsibility for anything you do."

Draco didn't even glance at her as she spoke but Hermione noticed the corner of his mouth twitch. He wasn't yelling at her to stop talking or reaching for his wand to hex her, so Hermione saw it safe to continue.

"You're blaming _me _for your restlessne–"

"That's because it is your fault," Draco interrupted her in a calm voice, his eyes still unfocused.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe you shouldn't be _blaming _me?" With the same blank expression on his face, Malfoy met her eyes in an intense stare. "My morals and idealistic view snapped you out of this reverie you called your life, didn't it? But I think it was long overdue for someone to snap some sense into you.

"You should be _thanking_ me because now, for once in your life, you can think for yourself and you can _choose_. All that other honor and pride doesn't matter; it never did. I did you a favor, Malfoy!"

Her eyes didn't leave his for a second; they stood there staring at each other for a long time in complete silence. Hermione walked past where Malfoy stood frozen against the tree and back to the castle.

...

The dark halls echoed with her footsteps as she patrolled. The silence was unnerving so she distracted herself with her thoughts; but they always came back to one boy.

Hermione noticed that he looked ill and his skin was paler than usual. He had stopped volunteering insults towards her or anyone a long time ago, but now she noticed that he'd even stopped talking to Blaise during class; his head would remain down the whole time, wrapped up in his thoughts.

Maybe there was something wrong; something that was bothering him or keeping him up all night. _Don't be absurd, Hermione,_ she told herself. _You're beginning to sound like Harry. Think about something else._ But willing herself _not_ to think of Malfoy was only making her wonder more.

Hermione walked up the steps to the astronomy tower, hoping to get some fresh air. She opened the door and with her wand lighting the way, she walked forward into the cold, shadowy room.

When she turned to look at the ledge, her eyes fell on a figure sitting with his back leaning against the side of the large window. His head was turned away, gazing out at the stars. Hermione inwardly groaned and turned around, keen on walking away; then she remembered that she was a prefect, and he was out past curfew.

She heard a groan followed by a sigh coming from behind her. "Do you honestly have to show up everywhere I am?"

"It's much too late for you to be out; you need to get back to your dorm." Hermione told him in an expressionless voice.

"Of course," he smirked. "You're a Prefect. I wouldn't have expected anything less from a stickler like you."

Hermione refused to let any of his taunts affect her. With the same expressionless tone, she said, "Just leave before I give you detention."

Draco didn't move from his position, his head was still turned out at the open. "Okay," he said. "No need to get your knickers in a twist. I'm going." However he still made no movement and for some reason, Hermione felt herself walking tentatively towards him. Before she could stop herself, she was sitting across from him on the ledge, her back leaning on the other side of the window.

She looked at his ashen face, the bags under his eyes and the silvery-blond hair which looked as though someone had run his hands through them too often. "Are you alright, Malfoy?"

He gave a sneering chuckle. "What do you care?"

"You look ill," she said softly. "You have for a while and I can tell something's bothering you." She noticed his jaw clench and his body tense for a second. "You can tell me, you know."

Suddenly, he pushed his back off the wall and leaned forward towards Hermione. His face wore a mask of disgust as he spat his words at her. "Shut up, Granger. I'm not some charity case and I sure as _hell_ don't need your pity. So you can go shove that–"

Draco broke off at the sight of the moisture that had begun forming in Hermione's eyes. She was taken aback and she felt her eyes prickle with held back tears. _I will not cry in front of Malfoy! _She screamed at herself and pressed her teeth together, pushing aside the tears. She spoke in a shaky voice. "I was just trying to help."

Hermione got up silently and walked towards the door, wondering why she felt so hurt. Her body felt rigid as she took one step after another and placed her hand on the knob of the door.

"Look, Granger," he started, hesitantly. "I–I'm sorry."

She froze. Hermione repeated the words that had just left Malfoy's mouth in her head over and over again; he had just apologized to her. All of a sudden she heard fast steps getting louder and by the time she turned around, Draco had both of his hands on either side of her head, his face mere inches away from hers.

"I'm done," he said in a whisper. "I'm done trying to push this away; trying to control every small thing around you."

Hermione's eyes were wide as she took quick, shallow breaths. She felt his hand move lower and her wand, which had been pointing at his gut, was plucked out from her fingers. She glanced down, remembering the weapon she had; _why didn't she use it?_ Hermione watched in shock as he threw it aside and she remained trapped between his hands.

His fingers gently lifted her chin and turned it towards him, making their eyes meet. "I hate you," he said forcefully, his gray eyes boring into her pools of brown. "I hate everything _about _you. The way you walk, the way you speak, just the way you look at me angers me and makes my blood boil."

The fear seeped into her slowly as she felt her knees go weak. His face got even closer to hers as his fingers slid from her chin to the back of her neck.

"But I can't get you out of my mind." His tortured whisper sent shivers down her spine. "You're _haunting _me, Hermione."

Her name rolled off his tongue beautifully and Hermione felt herself finally relax into him. He moved his lips right next to her ear and whispered.

"I've seen the way you look at me, Hermione." His hand travelled down from her neck to her waist and he gripped it with both hands. He felt her tremble as his breath tickled her ear. Draco tucked one stray curl behind her ear and inhaled the lavender scent of her hair. "Tell me; tell me what I do to you."

Hermione suddenly tensed; she was in the arms of her enemy. The sense of loathing swelled inside her and made her feel sick. She spoke through clenched teeth. "You repulse me."

Draco simply smiled at her passion. He moved his lips from her ear down to her neck. "Because I'm prejudiced," he lightly brushed his lips against her neck. "Because I follow what I do without a reason," he showered more kisses on her smooth skin, watching in pleasure as she shuddered. "And because I'm blinded with pride and have no sense of responsibility."

He pulled back slightly and looked deep into her eyes. "Why else do you hate me?" Hermione closed her eyes, unable to look at his gray orbs any longer. He was so close she felt his breath on her lips. "Tell me, Hermione," he whispered. "Why do you hate me?"

She breathed shakily. "Y–you" she stuttered, "You made me fall for you,"

Draco's lips captured hers softly as his hands ran through her curls. Their kiss deepened as Draco pushed her further against the door and closed the gap between them. Hermione's arms slid around his neck, pulling his face down.

The feel of her lips against his own sent shivers down his body. Her soft lips tasted heavenly and he crushed his own against hers roughly. Hermione's back was pushed against the cold stone wall as Draco thrust himself closer to her. His lips travelled down to her neck and he bit down on the soft flesh, drawing out a strangled cry from Hermione but her moans were silenced with another kiss.

Hermione's mind was bustling with feelings should couldn't explain, all of which were pushed aside from the feel of Draco's lips on her own. _Draco Malfoy's _lips. The grip she had around his neck loosened at this thought; he too relaxed his clutch on her waist.

They both pulled away at the same time, unable to look at each other. Hermione's hand subconsciously went up to touch where his lips had met hers. She felt her heart racing and her hands shake at what she'd done.

Draco had an unreadable expression on his face; he seemed both confused and overwhelmed. They both looked up at the same time, taking in the sight of each other.

Draco broke the quiet in a low voice. "We shouldn't have done that." He watched Hermione's face which was frozen in a state of shock. "It won't happen again." The silence rang between them as Draco moved his gaze to the floor. He slowly turned away from her, his back facing her piercing stare.

After a long time, Hermione finally spoke. "I don't think so," she said. "I don't think that was a mistake, Draco."

Draco flinched slightly at the sound of his name coming from her lips, but didn't respond; he stayed as he was, with his back to her. Hermione took a careful step forward and gingerly raised her arm. Her hand made its way to his shoulder and gently brushed it.

He jerked away from her touch as if she'd burned him. "Don't touch me," he hissed. She withdrew her hand fearfully.

Hermione's eyes wide with hurt and rejection flashed with a kind of determination. "Are you telling me that didn't mean anything?" Her soft voice was slowly losing its composed tone. "Are you telling me _I_ don't mean _anything_ to you?" she cried out.

"_Of course_ you mean something!" he snapped at her, his voice filled with pain. "Of course you do," His hand ran through his hair despairingly. Draco turned to look at her frowning face. "I have to do what I have to do, Hermione, and so do you; our paths will never cross." spun away from her once again

He heard no response from her, but only footsteps as she walked to retrieve her discarded wand from the side and the creaking of the door as she opened it. He spun around just as she was about to walk through.

"Maybe," His voice trembled as she turned to look at him with anguish in her eyes. "Maybe one day, if we make it out of this mess," he trailed off.

"There's always another option, Draco," she said softly. "It's never too late. There's always a choice; you just have to be willing to make it." Hermione closed the door behind her, leaving Draco alone to his thoughts.

His mind whirled with thoughts and emotions, making him giddy. Of the turmoil inside him, he knew only one thing for sure; he had fallen _hard_ for Hermione Granger.

...

Hermione stood in the hospital wing, listening to Harry recount what had transpired up in the Astronomy Tower, where she and Draco, only a week ago, had been together.

Harry spoke gravely. "Dumbledore was ill, he was weak, but I think he realised it was a trap when we heard footsteps running up the stairs. He immobilised me, I couldn't do anything, I was under the Invisibility Cloak – and then Malfoy came through the door and disarmed him –"

Hermione clapped her hands to her mouth. Her mind looked back on what she had heard him say that day.

"_I have to do what I have to do, Hermione, and so do you; our paths will never cross."_

Hermione barely paid any more attention to Harry and everyone else as they spoke about the attack. The tears welled in her eyes as the image of Draco pointing his wand menacingly at Dumbledore haunted her.

Harry left with Professor McGonagall and the Hospital Wing was left with the Weasleys, Fleur (who was still dabbing at Bill's wounds), Lupin and Tonks (who seemed to be having a silent conversation with their eyes), and Hermione. Ron and Ginny walked to her and the three of them made their way to the Gryffindor Common Room slowly. They stayed silent, unsure of what to say, and Ron squeezed her shoulder gently.

The Common Room was crowded with students who looked up as they arrived through the portrait hole, ignoring the Fat Lady's tearful questions. Wordlessly, Hermione and Ginny went up the stairs to the girl's dormitory, while Ron climbed the stairs on the other side.

Hermione sat on her bed, her hands shaking, and Ginny walked in a trance-like state to the bathroom. The only sound echoing in the dorm was their unsteady breathing as everyone else was down in the common room.

Hermione began adjusting her blanket and pillow so she could go try to get some sleep when her eyes caught something white underneath her pillow. Her hands moved gingerly to pull it out; it was an envelope. The flap had a crest of a snake on a green and silver plate. She saw her name scrawled across the front. A silent tear slipped down her cheek as she opened the flap and pulled out the letter.

_Hermione,_

_I know that by the time you read this, the task that I was meant to carry out will have been completed. You most likely think of me as a monster now, and I'm not denying it. I've done some horrible things that I'm not proud of._

_I just wanted to let you know that you mean a lot to me, and I'm sorry for what I've put you through. I wish we had more time together because you changed my life more than you can imagine._

_That night, on the Astronomy Tower, you told that I had a choice and I needed to be willing to make it. I know my options and I want to choose the correct one, but I wish I had your courage to act on simply what is right. I hope you understand that what I did tonight was only because I was afraid of consequences, and not because I thought it was the right thing to do._

_What I said the other night, I meant; if we make it out of this war alive, the prospect of a future together __is not entirely out of question. I know the possibilities are slim, but if I'm still around, I'll wait for you. I can never forget you, Hermione Granger, and I hope that you'll always remember me too._

_Take care of yourself,_

_Draco_


End file.
